Direct Assault
by DarkBalance
Summary: The Digital World was becoming a war zone now, and the thought of being together forever was beginning to look more like the daydream that it used to be. [A02][AU][Tailmon/Wizarmon]
1. Soul

**Title** : Direct Assault  
 **Chapter** : 01 Soul  
 **Wordcount** : 558  
 **Posted** : 06.17.15

 _So this is my second attempt at this challenge, the Too Many Cooks challenge on the DFC. My partner is still Ryoumafan, recently renamed Tomoe Mami. You should read her story, Subterfuge, the companion piece to this one. This story is AU, with both Wizarmon and Tailmon as Hikari's digimon partners. It's going to focus mainly on the Digimon, which will be a challenge for me in general. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to leave a review, please._

* * *

The sun had only just risen above the horizon but the forest was already full of activity. A tall figure in a dark cloak stood atop the back of an Airdramon. Jet black rings floated around him, their evil energy almost tangible. Digimon fled from him, the self-proclaimed Digimon Kaiser, but for every mon who escaped, it seemed like another was caught in an Evil Ring's influence, their eyes glowing red as it took hold.

Among them, a small rodent-like Digimon struggled to stay ahead of the rings, only barely dodging them in time to avoid capture. His wings, disproportionate to his body, weren't really meant for flying, but his stubby legs weren't much better. He missed the days when he was carried, soft arms holding him securely in place. The memory of warmth and safety was nice, but it hardly did anything for the rodent Digimon's speed, as a Evil Ring rapidly gained on him. He cried out, panic seizing him until a second, humanoid Digimon swung his decorated staff and knocked it off course to shatter against a gray tree trunk. The flying digimon breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Wizarmon," he panted. He paused in a tree branch for a brief rest; his wings really weren't meant for this much exercise.

"You should be more careful, Patamon," Wizarmon acknowledged sagely. "I know it's hard right now, but we have to try. Stay focused."

"Wizarmon, watch out!" Patamon cried, too late. With all of the evil energy surrounding them, it was hard for Wizarmon to sense when the Rings were growing close; he turned his head just in time to see one just seconds from wrapping itself around his arm.

That was, until the golden glow of a Holy Ring knocked it aside.

Completing her somersault, Tailmon, the most beautiful being Wizarmon had ever had the pleasure of meeting, landed perfectly on her feet. She had been running in the tree tops, out of sight, and, Wizarmon had thought, ahead of them, out of range of the Evil Rings. Of course, he should have expected her to stay close to him, just as he would have done. He smiled at her, and although his mouth was hidden beneath the collar of his cloak, his eyes shined with gratefulness and an unrestrained, overall joy.

"Thank you, Tailmon," He didn't completely understand the concept of a soul, or even knew if Digimon even had one, but he believed that if he did, his would glow brighter whenever Tailmon was present.

"You should be more careful yourself there, Wizarmon." she smirked at him, obviously pleased with herself. However, even through the mirth, he could hear the scolding, from the narrowing of her eyes to parroting his words back to him.

"I thought that's what I had you for?" Wizarmon couldn't help that bit of cheek.

"If you two are done flirting," Patamon reminded them, anxiety filling his voice as a new wave of Evil Rings approached, "it might be a good idea to run!" Patamon took off flying, Tailmon and Wizarmon on his heels.

The three of them together were an excellent team, they always had one another covered. But Wizarmon knew that it couldn't be the case much longer. Not if the Kaiser had his way.


	2. Capture

**Chapter** : 02 Capture  
 **Wordcount** : 576  
 **Posted** : 06.21.15 EST

 _Don't forget to read Tomoe Mami's fic, Subterfuge. It's the companion story to this one, both written for the Too Many Cooks challenge on the Digimon Fanfiction Challenges forum. Lot's of fun stuff over there, so if you're lacking plot ideas (or reasons to put them to paper), pop over there and pick your poison, er, join the fun!_

* * *

There shouldn't be much more time left. They had been running for hours now, but the sun was beginning to set, which mean that the Digimon Kaiser, with his Evil Rings and controlled digimon, would go into hiding soon. All of that power, and the great big bully was afraid of the dark! Unfortunately, there wasn't any time for jokes, as much as Patamon would have liked to sit down for a moment or ten and just _relax._ It seemed like running was all they ever did these days, running and hiding and more running, all until it became night time and they could pretend like everything was how it used to be.

"I think we might be okay here," Tailmon panted, stopping just outside of a forest clearing. Patamon landed on a branch above her and Wizarmon leaned over his staff. All three of them were exhausted and gasping for air, waiting for the peaceful silence that will come when the forest was no longer full of the muggy, choking energy of the Evil Rings, and the hunted Digimon could finally settle down.

"Is he gone yet?" Patamon questioned. He didn't like sitting around when an Evil Ring could come out of nowhere at any moment. This state of anxiety and constant fear was worse than being hunted by Vamdemon or stalked by the Dark Masters. At least then, Patamon knew he was working towards reclaiming his world and defeating the evil once and for all. At least back then he could actually _fight_ when the time came to do so. But being stuck at the Child level? There wasn't anything he could do. He wasn't even sure if his world could be saved.

"No," Wizarmon answered, exhausted. "But he will be. I can feel his taint fading. We'll be safe soon.

"Good," sighed Patamon. "Because I need a break!"

"I wish Hikari was here," Tailmon admitted, her voice soft but fierce. "Then I could digivolve and put that so-called Digimon Kaiser in his place."

"I know," Wizarmon knelt to Tailmon's level, stroking her back affectionately, the way she would only let him and their human do. "I miss her too. But there's no guarantee that she'll be able to save us. Until then, we'll have to survive on our own." Wizarmon stood up then, his eyes narrowing. "We need to move," he told them. "There isn't much time until the Kaiser retreats, but I can feel his darkness appro -" Wizarmon's words were cut off by a feral roar echoing off of the trees.

What happened after that was a blur. Patamon wasn't even sure how he survived, let alone all three of them, together. It was almost unheard of to escape Centalmon, let alone a stampede of them, all baring red eyes and Evil Rings. It was largely thanks to Wizarmon's quick thinking and Tailmon's raw power that they managed to keep their lives.

"They're gone, right?" Patamon cried miserably.

"Not quite," Wizarmon warned, just as the last one appeared from behind a cluster of trees. The way he moved was as if he was confused, but the way he locked onto the trio made it clear they were his enemies.

They ran. There was nothing else for them to do.

And when Tailmon's tail got caught beneath Centalmon's hoof, she decided that her life was a lot more important than that damn Holy Ring; she had promises to keep, after all.


	3. Light

**Chapter** : 03 light  
 **Wordcount** : 505  
 **Posted** : 09.07.15

 _Hopefully we can continue somewhat regularly from here on, yeah? I'd like to say that I wrote a lot for Camp NaNo, but I didn't. I failed. Spectacularly._

* * *

Wizarmon could not find the words to describe how much of a relief it had been to see the Yagami child, even if he now couldn't locate Tailmon. If Taichi was there, then the rest of the Chosen Children would be soon as well. And if the Chosen Children were coming, then that meant Hikari, and Hikari meant that he and Tailmon would be just a little safer. Now, if he could just _find_ Tailmon.

"You have to digivolve!" Taichi commanded Agumon, digivice clutched tight in hand. It beeped and flashed, but didn't glow with the light of digivolution. It felt like all of the hope Wizarmon had held died with the digivice's diminished light; the Chosen Children had been their only hope.

But maybe… maybe Hikari would be different. She had been different from the beginning, the only Child left behind, the only one with two partners, the only one with _Adult level_ partners at that. Yes, Hikari had always been special, so she should be the one to save them. Hope nudged its way back into the smallest corner of Wizarmon's heart; he had never been one to lie to himself, but things were looking desperate.

"Everyone, this way!" That cry seemed to simultaneously stop and kickstart Wizarmon's heart. He turned in just enough time to watch the fine hair at the end of his mate's tail disappear behind a tree, before he ran after her, Taichi and the rest of the Chosen's digimon following.

They took cover in a cave, where Wizarmon had to stop himself from tackling Tailmon in a hug and checking over every inch of her. As it was, he kept his eyes trained on her, scrutinizing her appearance, searching for anything that might look the slightest bit off. It had been almost two days before Wizarmon had learned Tailmon's Holy Ring was missing, and that not even from the cat's mouth!

"You don't have to stare so much, you know," muttered Tailmon as the others went farther into the cave, investigating what was apparently a Digimental bearing the Crest of Courage.

"I wanted to make sure you were alright." Wizarmon countered.

"I already told you I was sorry, what more do you want?" irritation leaked into Tailmon's voice.

"To _always_ keep you safe." Of course, this wasn't the first time the couple had had this argument, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Tailmon was naturally independent, and Wizarmon was naturally protective. Normally, Tailmon and Wizarmon worked well together in spite of, or perhaps because of, those instincts; other times, it could be frustrating how thoroughly they clashed.

"Just... let me know when you get hurt," Wizarmon sighed. "Then I won't have to be so paranoid."

I bright orange light drew their attention to the back of the cave, where it engulfed Taichi has he tried to lift the Digimental from where it sat. Instead, the light faded, condensing into three small globes. They hovered there for a long, almost ominous moment, then shot off into the sky.


	4. Injury

**Chapter:** 04 injury  
 **Wordcount:** 382  
 **Posted:** 09.20.16

 _I struggled more than should have been reasonable with this chapter. I'm not sure if I like it or if it's any good, but here you go. Once again, don't forget to check out Subterfuge by TomoeMami, the partner to this story. Subterfuge covers the first season while this one covers the second._

* * *

Wizarmon grew a feeling of unease the very second the new child removed the Digimental from its pedestal. It was just one of those things that went too smoothly. There was a new member to their team, a new set of digivices to match the new dark overlord, and a so-called "lucky" digimon who was supposed to be extinct. Things had to balance out somewhere, and immediately was the way those things typically went.

Wizarmon wasn't disappointed. Moments later, the ceiling of their cave collapsed, raining rock and dust upon them. Through the rubble, Wizarmon could make out the "monster," Monochromon, stumbling down the cave wall to meet them. His eyes glowed the same eerie red as a lot of digimon these days, the ones tamed by the Digimon Kaiser. The normally graceful smile was replaced with a menacing grimace as Monochromon opened its mouth, a ball of white-orange fire growing at the back of his throat. Only Patamon and Agumon, optimistic Child-levels that they were, attempted to attack and stall the beast, while the Adult-level Wizarmon and Tailmon were already shoving their partner towards the exit of the did not take very long for the others to follow suit.

And things one went downhill from there.

Through the chaos, Wizarmon fell behind the rest and was separated from Hikari and Tailmon. Even as he could see them in the distance, ahead of everyone else and safe, not having both of them close, to know that they would _stay_ safe, cut at Wizarmon's already frayed nerves. The chaos around them was not helping. Things were spinning out of control quickly, and they were all sitting ducks no matter what they did. What good was having four Chosen Children here if none of them had the power to evolve their digimon partners? What was the purpose of Wizarmon having so much power if some brat could come along and lock it all away? And as he watched Hikari fall, heard her cry out at the injury she sustained, felt the build of energy as the new child finally, _finally_ found the key to evolving that V-mon, Wizarmon wondered what was the point of being Hikari's partner, if he couldn't do anything to protect her?


End file.
